PICTURES: The rising price of fuel is “final nail in the coffin” - says Sam Hanna driving lead tractor in protest on the Sydenham bypass in Belfast

“This is extortionate what we’re getting charged in taxes throughout life, not just fuel, petrol, everything we’re being extorted,” he said.

He added: “Technically, it’s not us that’s blocking the hard shoulder. We have kept the hard shoulder open. The cars are underpassing the whole way, the police are sitting watching them underpass. It’s the cars that are blocking the hard shoulder.

“There was a couple of emergency vehicles went down there’s a few there coming, and we pulled over straight away.”

He described the rising price of fuel as the “final nail in the coffin”.

“The south have got 505 million out of it, to the farmers and all,” he said.

“It’s probably a few pounds per litre but it’s still money getting back, and it’s only figures on a page for them boys, they’re not living in the real world like us and trying to scrimp and scrape. Nobody has savings nowadays. Any money you get it’s to keep you going and keep things ticking over and just joining the dots.”

Mr Hanna further stated: “The UK Government have to act and realistically what we’re doing here, they don’t care what we’re doing. They don’t give a damn about us here and that will show in their response to this.”